Donations help Flint’s West Court Church distribute water again

Posted Jan 2, 2019

Mac Snyder | MLive.com

Workers load cases of water into a car on a rainy afternoon on Thursday, April 20, 2017, at a water distribution site at West Court Street Church of God in Flint. (Mac Snyder | MLive.com) Mac Snyder | MLive.com

FLINT, MI -- West Court Street Church is about to get back in the business of distributing bottled water.

The Rev. Rob Butler said in Twitter messages to MLive-The Flint Journal Monday, Dec. 31, that water distribution at the church could restart as soon as Jan. 5 thanks to an online fundraising effort headed by Lance Cooper, a Virginia activist, who’s spearheaded the campaign.

“As of now, we have received funding for a month’s worth of distribution from Mr. Cooper and the #saveflintchallenge and he has pledged to make sure we are funded for the first quarter,” Butler said in his message. Other groups have also benefited from the donations, he said.

West Court has relied on donated water for its distributions, which have been off and on since May.

Nestle Waters North America supplied water to distribution sites in 2018 and has committed to supply Flint with approximately 1.8 million bottles of water during the first four months of 2019.

Governor-elect Gretchen Whitmer successfully campaigned about a change in approach to Flint’s short-term water needs but hasn’t publicly detailed her plans yet.

“I think about the families in Flint every time I turn on the tap,” she said in a Twitter message in October. “We need to bring back free bottled water and expedite the replacement of lead waterlines in Flint.”